How Are Businesses Doing a Year Later After Chantal?

BUSINESS

By Tyria Bourda
Correspondent

CHAPEL HILL – A lot has changed since we last reported on Tropical Storm Chantal flood damage at Eastgate Shopping Center. Situated at 1800 E. Franklin St. in Chapel Hill, this center has been one of the most affected commercial zones. Numerous businesses have resumed operations while others remain permanently closed.

Open Businesses:

• Aldi
• Chopt
• Chipotle
• Clean Juice
• Club Pilates
• Core Power Yoga
• Eastgate Shoe Repair
• Great Outdoor Provision
• Guglhupf
• J. Crew
• Kipos Greek Taverna
• Trader Joes
• Olmaz Jewelers
• Petco
• Shake Shack
• Snooze Eatery
• The Loop
• Twisted Noodles
• Ulta
• Winestore

Temporarily Closed:

• Massage Envy
• Restore Hyper Wellness

Permanently Closed:

• Bruegger’s Bagels
• Elements Massage Studio
• Rise Southern Biscuits
• Talbots
• Zartiques Rugs
• Starbucks
• Jersey Mike’s
• Dollar Tree

Snooze Eatery Reopens:

After more than seven months of repairs, Snooze Eatery’s Chapel Hill location reopened on March 1st. The restaurant was severely damaged by Tropical Storm Chantal last July. Several items needed to be replaced or rebuilt, including booths, bars, kitchen equipment, walls, bathrooms, and countertops.

Photo Credit: Snooze Eatery

According to Meghann Cleary, the regional manager for Snooze, damage assessment took about a month during the repair process. Furthermore, Chapel Hill promptly returned permits and conducted inspections, sometimes arriving on site within 10 minutes of a phone call, according to Cleary.

Ultimately, the restaurant’s strong connections to the local community and its employees motivated its reopening.

“It’s not just money that’s the question,” Cleary said. “It’s also people and people’s livelihood.”

The Loop Reopens

Photo Credit: The Loop Restaurant – Inside flood damage

A long-standing Chapel Hill restaurant faced a massive challenge last July when it was inundated by almost 6 feet of water in just 45 minutes. In the aftermath, tables, chairs, and equipment were damaged by floods, requiring repairs to be made. After a lot of hard work, the restaurant reopened on January 27th.

The Loops Manager, Hendrix Prescott, originally anticipated the renovation would take three or four months. Scott Novak, the restaurant’s general manager, said he worked closely with the restaurant’s corporate team, staff, and the Chapel Hill community. Ultimately, teamwork led to the restaurant being up and running in six months.

“Reopening isn’t just about turning the lights back on — it’s about bringing our team back together, welcoming our guests home, and saying thank you to everyone who helped us get here,” Novak wrote in a press release.

To further help the restaurant, local community members launched a GoFundMe campaign after the flood, bringing in over $25,000 to help employees who were out of work.

Tyria McCray-Bourda is a story-driven journalist whose work has previously appeared in The Carolinian newspaper in Raleigh. Attaining a bachelor’s degree in communication from Southern New Hampshire University, she has the distinction of having interviewed President Joe Biden when he was a candidate on the campaign trail, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris. This reporter can be reached at: Information@TheLocalReporter.press